Nightmare
by KiraSakura
Summary: Riku HATED sleep. There, the dreams would reach out, and snuff him out in the darkness. Ansem would use him like a toy, and Sora would leave. But he didn't tell anyone, as to not bother them. So Riku knew it was a bad idea to go to Sora's sleepover. [SxR]


**Disclaimer: **I don't KHI, CoM or KHII. Sqaure Enix does.

**Warnings: **Shounen-ai, dark-ish themes, and Ansem attempting to be sexy.

**Author's Note: **Yet ANOTHER KH thing. Geez, where are these coming from? Oh well. La la la. Dai got back from Summer Camp, so I'm happy. Aaaanyways, I tried to kill Sephi today. Gods! He's harder than Xigbar! Who I happen to be stuck on _(grumble grumble)_ Oh well. I'll get there. I loves Riku. He's got the whole angst thing going really well for him. And I love angst. With happy endings. Eh. I haven't actually played KHI, so if anything looks wrong (I don't think it is) then tell me! And reveiw, for crying out loud. It makes me happy, and I reward peoples with more fics. And everyone loves a bit of Sora Riku love.

**Edit: **Ok, so I went and redid the ending, because it was rushed and crappy and I have a cold so I'm at home alot and I was bored out of my skull. I'll be fixing Spreading Darkness up, as well. Meh. And I call Xehanort's Heartless 'Ansem' because, quite frankly, calling him/it Xehanort's Heartless is just plain out tiring. AND I had to go and watch Riku's little transformation act on YouTube. So about the 'Clicks' and 'Groans', as far as I can figure one would be hurting a lot when one's body is being stretched and shaped and moulded and whatnot. Gwah.

**OXOXOXOXOXOXO**

Riku stared at the door. He shouldn't of come, he knew it. But it was Sora's sixteenth birthday, and Riku had felt an obligation to attend Sora's sleepover party. Riku ignored the fear and worry and the urge to turn tail and run home, and knocked at the door. He wasn't afraid of the fact that Sora's mother would be cooking (God forbid) or the fact that Tidus and Wakka and Kairi and Selphie would probably make him play some foolish game. No. Riku was afraid of the actual sleeping part. Riku knew, he just knew, he was going to have those dreams again, and wake in the middle of the night screaming and yelling and shaking. Those horrible dreams, the ones that stopped him from sleeping. The ones that made Riku into a zombie, falling asleep in class only to jerk awake with a yell when he saw those amber eyes and tanned arms reaching out to him, claiming him as his own. Or the ones when he saw those sharp nails, clawing away at his heart. Or the thick, smog-like darkness, that would surround him, and squeeze the very breath from his lungs. Riku shuddered at the very memories of them.

"RIKU!" Sora yelled, already with a mouthful of lollies and soda. He glomped his best friend, and babbled, "I'm so glad you came! Cause I seriously didn't think you would, cause you said you wouldn't, and and and SELPHIE SAID I WAS GAY!! And she's right!! AHA HA HA HA"

Riku rolled his eyes, and looked over Sora's shoulder to Kairi, who was looking a little guilty. And not sleep-deprived. Riku blinked blearily, and pushed Sora off him. "Ok Sora. Deep breaths" Riku told his friend, patting him on the back. Sora giggled loudly, and Riku knew he was going to have to tie Sora to a chair at some point this evening. The kid was already full of sugar.

---

It had been going well up until the point that Selphie had produced a new book she had bought called, 'Dream Reading'. She had then demanded that everyone tell her dreams, so she could tell them what it meant. Tidus went first, a silly grin on his face.

"Last night I dreamt about giant ducks taking over the world! And then I saw myself fighting them with this funny looking man and pretty girl" He said, stuffing another handful of popcorn into his mouth. Selphie nodded, and told him it meant he was going to get rich soon. Riku saw no connection, but hey. Tidus hadn't seen the things he had.

Kairi went next, blushing and stammering that she had dreamt of Sora and her sharing a certain yellow star-shaped fruit. Riku had resisted the urge to burst out laughing when Selphie said it meant that Kairi was probably going to eat a banana at some point in the future.

Wakka said something about giant rolls of cheese, and Selphie had quite frankly said, "You're gonna lose your virginity tomorrow".

Then it was Riku's turn. He had tried to think up a lie, but the dreams returned. He could practically _hear_ Ansem hiss into his ear, "Tell them…tell them how you gave yourself to the darkness…"

"I…I didn't sleep" Riku stated. He would rather them think he was weird, strange freak then know how he suffered. He didn't want to worry them. He didn't deserve it.

Sora had blinked at him, big blue eyes wide and beautiful, and said, "Really?"

Riku had nodded, and looked away. He closed his eyes, trying to drown out Sora's worried look, but instead saw those yellow eyes, glowing in the darkness, mocking him. He shuddered again, and said, "Hey…let's watch a movie or something. This is boring"

They ended up watching Bambi.

---

Sora and Riku would be sleeping in Sora's room, while Kairi and Selphie would be in the spare bedroom, and Wakka and Tidus would be in the living room. They all said their goodnights, and headed to their respective rooms. Sora fell asleep quickly, while Riku just stared at the ceiling, and willed away the eyes and claws and darkness. But they weren't going anywhere. When Riku did drift off to sleep, he fell into a fitful dream, tossing and turning and whimpering.

_He was in the darkness again. Thick, stifling darkness, curling around him. Riku tried to get away, but it clung to him like a second skin. The stench was horrible, a mix of rot and mould, and he couldn't breath. Then he heard footsteps, and a pair of strong arms wrapped around his waist, and Ansem whispered in his ear, "Join me…return to me…"_

"_NO! Get away from me! And then Riku was running, and running, and the hands were reaching out for him…and then there was Sora, walking away. And Riku called out to him, but Sora didn't hear, and Ansem's voice flitted through his mind. _

"_Why would something so full of light ever have anything to do with something so full of darkness?" Riku tried to tell Ansem, to tell him that he wasn't full of darkness, but no words came, and then he felt harsh transparent hands close around his throat, and he struggled desperately to get away, but Ansem laughed and squeezed even tighter. "Why would the light love the darkness?" He hissed, and before reaching towards Riku's chest, and going through the pale skin, past the flesh, and grasping the small, broken heart that resided in Riku's chest, and tugging. Riku screamed in pain and fear and hatred, and called out for Sora. But Sora just kept on walking, even when Ansem ripped Riku's heart out, laughing cruelly. Riku screamed again, and next thing he knew he was being shaken and his name was being called._

"Riku! RIKU! Wake up! It's only a dream!" Sora shook his friend's shoulder. But Riku wasn't waking up. He kept tossing, and clawing at his chest, and then he opened his mouth and screamed, loud and clear. Sora jumped back, just in time, because Riku bolted upwards, tears flowing down his cheeks, and hand grasping his shirt. He was panting and shaking, and his sea-green eyes were wide with fear. He took in several shaky breaths, and then hugged himself, murmuring, "Just a dream just a dream just a dream"

"Riku…?" Sora asked, staring at his friend. Riku turned his eyes to Sora, and winced. Sora blinked, and crawled towards his friend. Riku kept shaking, staring at Sora with such longing that Sora felt his heart tug in his chest, and then Riku had thrown himself at Sora, and started to babble about the dreams, and the lack of sleep, and how scared Riku was of Sora leaving, and Sora gently petted Riku's head, nodding and making soft, soothing noises. Finally, when Riku had run out of tears, and stopped talking, Sora looked his friend straight in the eye and said, "I'm not going to leave you. I promise"

Riku nodded, and murmured something that Sora didn't quite catch. "Huh? What was that, Riku?" Sora asked. Riku looked up, and stuttered, "How do you know? You could - _should _- just abandon me because of what I did…I don't deserve the sympathy you and Kairi and everyone else give. I don't deserve your kindness!"

Sora sighed. Shaking his head, he grabbed Riku's slightly larger hand and held it up against his chest. Riku felt the steady thump-thump-thump of Sora's heart, and instantly felt relaxed. The memories of the darkness and the claws and the older heartless with the too-tan skin and amber eyes disappeared, fading with the rising sun and Sora's soft, reassuring voice.

"Riku, you joined the darkness because you wanted to save Kairi, right? And you were jealous. But that's alright. I spent so much time with Kairi before everything happened, and I guess the fact that I chose to be the hero and go with Donald and Goofy sent you over the edge" Small, yet strong tan arms wrapped around Riku's shoulders, encasing him in a gentle warmth.

"But you saw what you did was wrong, and you did so, so much for forgiveness. For Christ's sake, you gave up your _body_. And Roxas said that the entire time you were changing he could hear all these unnatural clicks and groans because you could feel your body stretch and grow…and…and…we forgive you, we all do! Even Jasmine forgave you!"

"But how could you just…just do that?" Riku murmured.

"Because it's easy to forgive the person you love" Sora replied.

A shocked silence fell upon the two boys, and Sora felt a wave of panic wash over him. He opened his mouth to say that he meant it friendship-wise, but was cut off by a tiny, hopeful, scared voice.

"Do…do you mean it?" Riku whispered. Sora nodded dumbly, and watched as a smile as bright as the early morning sun that was creeping through his open window stretched across Riku's face. "I love you too" Riku said, and gently captured Sora's lips in his own.

And Riku never had the dreams again.


End file.
